Belt-worn cases for carrying firearms first came into use in the 1840's. As side arms gained wide usage with the opening up of the American West, the early pommel bag, carried on a saddle, gave way to an open-ended loop or sleeve fixed onto a wide belt. These loops provided ready access, but afforded no protection to the firearm. By the time of the Civil War, enclosed or semi-enclosed holsters were in common use to protect the workings of revolvers.
Today, military and law enforcement personnel use holsters constructed from a variety of material, and in myriad configurations. Furthermore, modern law enforcement methods require many tools in addition to the traditional side arm. Although it is not unusual for an officer to carry several items, three items are almost universally carried: a pair of handcuffs, a handcuffs key, and a spare ammunition magazine. These items are typically carried in a case or cases attached to the officer's belt.
Normally, cases known in the art for storing handcuffs, handcuff keys or magazines are bulky, rigid and heavy, in order to provide a secure and robust housing of such sensitive items. They usually facilitate carrying only one or two of the three essential items, requiring the user to wear more than one case. In consequence, law enforcement officers end up having to carry several bulky and heavy cases. While in service wearing a uniform, the fact of wearing heavy, bulky cases is not problematic as they are conveniently worn on the officer's uniform belt, protruding outwardly and unconcealed.
However, bulky cases known in the art are not easy to conceal beneath ordinary clothes. Thus, undercover agents, officers and investigators who work in plain clothes, and law enforcement officers who are off duty may have trouble carrying their equipment concealed beneath their clothes, compromising their personal safety and that of the people around them.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an alternative case for carrying accessories for law enforcement officers, and particularly for a concealable case capable of safely retaining a spare ammunition magazine, a pair of handcuffs, and a handcuffs key. Such a case would be particularly advantageous for off-duty law enforcement officers who wish to comfortably carry their sensitive equipment at hand, yet hidden beneath their clothes.